View full sizeJohn Berry / The Post-StandardJordan-Elbridge High School social studies teacher Jason Kufs (center) won this year’s trophy in the Ugly Beard contest held at the high school as part of a fundraising effort to support the Jordan-Elbridge Ecumenical Food Pantry.

Jordan, NY - Jordan-Elbridge High School social studies teacher Jason Kufs had no idea he was about to be named the winner of the school’s Ugly Beard contest today.

Kufs and 14 other staff members had been growing beards since Thanksgiving to raise money for the Jordan-Elbridge Ecumenical Food Pantry.

Students and staff got to vote for their favorite ugly beard contestant by bringing in a food donation for the pantry.

Kufs thought he only had two votes. High school senior Kathryn Alonso-Bergevin said Kufs encouraged students to donate canned goods, but not to him.

The students, for the most part, went along with Kufs. But a half-dozen staff members had another idea: They secretly donated all their food — and therefore, votes — to Kufs.

“They knew I had a beautiful beard,” said Kufs, who planned to shave his beard when he got home. “The patchy-bearded men who can’t grow real beards gave me their cans out of jealousy. I’ve got a solid brown beard.”

Kufs said another social studies teacher Roger Roman asked him to participate. Roman, who collected more than 400 votes, and five other teachers gave all 751 of their votes to Kufs.

Guidance counselor Rob McIntyre came in second place, with 467 votes.

The winner of last year’s Ugly Beard contest, math teacher Chris Sinclair, created “The Ugly Beard Band 2010” video and posted it on You Tube to get students and staff excited about giving to a good cause.

“It’s a fundraiser for the local food bank and everything we bring in is staying right in the community,” Sinclair said.

A total of 1,516 cans were collected today.

Since the school began holding its first Ugly Beard contest nearly four years ago, Sinclair said, it has given money and food donations worth more than $10,000.

“We’re extremely grateful,” said Joan Scott, coordinator of the pantry. “I know it’s more than just those growing beards. It’s many that haven’t any beards at all that are helping a lot too.”

The food pantry, located in the parish center of St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church in Jordan, is sponsored by five churches. The pantry distributes more than 400 emergency food boxes every year to about 125 families in the school district, she said.

Over the past year, the pantry has seen an estimated 25 percent increase in need, Scott said.

Jordan-Elbridge High School students today paid $1 to wear a hat in school. The $189 collected from Hat Day was given to the food pantry, interim principal Mary Thomas-Madonna said. “It teaches them charity begins at home,” she said. “We’re taking care of our own community.”

As for Kufs, he said he’d like to change the name of the Ugly Beard contest to the Beautiful Beard contest. But for now he will have to keep the title — and a nearly 7-foot-tall trophy in his classroom for the next year.